If a group of Montgomery County Council members get their way, Marylanders will eventually shell out $1 more on every pack of cigarettes in order to fund a series of medical programs, including one that helps provide care for low-income families.
Council President George Leventhal, along with Council Members Tom Perez and Steve Silverman, will introduce today what could be a highly contested resolution to support the Healthy Maryland Initiative.
Montgomery is the first county in the state to take up a resolution on the issue. The Healthy Maryland Initiative was first introduced during the 2006 legislative session in Annapolis and proposes increasing the state tobacco tax from $1 to $2 per pack. It would raise $200 million annually that would be used to enroll thousands of uninsured children in health care programs, help small businesses statewide insure employees and study disease disparities in minorities, among other uses.
Glenn E. Schneider, executive director of the Healthcare for All! Coalition, which has spearheaded the effort, said Monday that $14 million a year in tax money from the initiative will also go toward smoking prevention programs.
“The plan would [eventually] reduce teen smoking by 50,000 and insure 50,000 people,” he said. “This is an important step toward achieving our goal of health care for all.”
Although Maryland ranks as the third wealthiest state in the county, more than 800,000 of its 5.3 million residents are without insurance and another 800,000 are considered underinsured.
“There’s just no reason for this,” Schneider said.
The initiative, also known as House Bill 441, will be studied over the summer by a legislative task force that will make a recommendation about the bill by the end of the year.
In addition to members of the Healthcare for All! Coalition pushing council members for support, a group of local residents called Montgomery Healthcare Action has also begun to fight for universal health care, he said.
The Montgomery County Council is expected to vote on the resolution on June 27 at its full council meeting.
Where would the money go?
If the Healthy Maryland Initiative passes next session, the extra sales tax money will be divided as follows for 2008:
$15 million » helping small businesses provide insurance for their workers
$14 million » smoking prevention programs
$10 million » establishing a specialized care network for health care
$7 million » restoring Medicaid cuts made to services for legal immigrants
$3 million » expanding Medicaid coverage
$1.5 million » funding the state’s Office of Disparities, which researches why minorities suffer are afflicted with certain diseases more frequently than the rest of the population
Source: Healthcare for All! Coalition
